


Sick Day

by KayQy



Category: Blood-Smoke Series - Tanya Huff
Genre: Community: smallfandomfest, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sort of? - Freeform, gratuitous princess bride and harry potter references, magic is confusing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 07:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2058486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KayQy/pseuds/KayQy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Magic doesn't work like that.</i> Tony could probably explain why not better if he weren't tied to a wall and sick with the plague.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sick Day

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Small Fandoms Fest](http://smallfandomfest.livejournal.com/) over on LJ, for spikedluv's prompt: "Tony is attacked by a being that wants to steal his power."
> 
> If you haven't read the Smoke trilogy by Tanya Huff, or the Blood series it spun off of, you should go read them now. Not because of spoilers, though this story has plenty-- I read all the Tony/Lee fics on AO3 before I even found the books, and just loved them all the more-- but because they are freaking AMAZING and you should read them.

"No, Lee, really, I'm fine." Tony sneezed and dug through the covers for the toilet paper he'd been using since he ran out of tissues that morning. "You don't need to come over; you shouldn't expose yourself to my germs."

"Funny, you don't usually object to me exposing myself." Tony laughed, then coughed. "Seriously, I got my flu shot, and half the cast and crew are out sick with this, if I were going to catch it I would have by now." Lee's voice softened. "Can't I just come take care of my boyfriend? Nurse him back to health?"

It was good that they were on the phone; Lee got annoyingly (adorably) smug that he could still make Tony blush by using the word boyfriend. He didn't want to be the _needy boyfriend_ , though, so he said, "I'm a big grown-up wizard, I can take care of myself through one little cold."

Lee very kindly didn't remind him that CB himself had sent Tony home when he'd nearly passed out trying to work through what was obviously more than a cold. Or, you know, all those times he'd nearly killed himself overdoing it on the magical front, though Tony maintained that those had been extenuating circumstances. He just said, "I could stop by Hu Nang's, pick up some of their spicy egg drop soup."

"You play dirty," Tony said, practically tasting the soup already. "Fine, but prepared to be bored and grossed out the whole time."

"Around you? Never boring."

"I notice you're not denying the grossed out part."

"I'm not _that_ good of an actor." Tony grinned as Lee said something to someone on his end. "We're about to start filming again. Need me to bring anything else?"

_Just you._ "Uh, more cough syrup? Not cherry. Too confusing." Tony'd already woken up from one nap in a panic, ready to blast whatever had broken in, before he realized the cherry smell was his own breath.

"Got it," Lee said. "I'll see you as soon as we're done here. Get some rest, okay?"

"Sure," Tony said. He could hear Adam shouting in the distance as Lee hung up, and wished he could be at work instead of sitting on his couch blowing his brains out through his nose. If he wasn't completely certain that at least half his friends would kill him if he tried to magic away his cold... _Though if I can't find something besides my blanket to wipe my nose with SOON, I might just take my chances..._

Finally he saw the roll of toilet paper: it had fallen off the couch and rolled up against the wall, just out of reach of his outstretched fingers. Tony sighed, switched to his left hand, and _called_.

The toilet paper exploded half a meter from his face.

Tony spat out tissue fuzz and swore. _Okay, so magic while fighting the plague is not the best idea. Aaaand that was my last roll, too. Dammit._

Lee would bring him some more if Tony asked-- would probably even spring for the fancy tissues with lotion, which his nose was currently in a state to appreciate. But Lee wouldn't be done for hours yet, and was Tony really so pathetic that he'd wipe his nose on his blanket all day while waiting for his boyfriend to take care of him? _Come on, Tony, you've fought demons feeling worse than this, you can make it to the convenience store at the corner._

He was wearing pants, so he grabbed his coat, slipped on the first shoes he found, and made sure he had his phone, keys, and wallet. The amount of time it took to get this bare minimum almost made him rethink this plan, but it seemed like a waste to give up after already going to all that effort.

Tony locked his door and started down the hall, stopping halfway to the elevator to lean against the wall for a coughing fit. As he stood up, he caught a whiff of cherries, and how was he even smelling anything through all the crud in his nasal passages, anyway--

~*~*~

Tony came to with a crick in his neck, strained arms and shoulders, a roiling stomach, and a pounding headache, which on top of the sore throat and stuffy nose was seriously overkill in his opinion. When he tried to move and realized he was tied to a wall at his wrists and ankles, well, that was just adding insult to injury.

_Plus there's no chance that Lee decided to suddenly surprise me with his kinky side like this, which means I'm probably screwed, and not in a fun way._

He forced his eyes open and looked around. The room was small and dim, little more than a closet lit by candles. Dark purple curtains covered the other walls from floor to ceiling, hiding any doors or windows, and a tiny table held a stack of leatherbound books, a silver bowl, and a half dozen jars of powders and liquids. The wall he was tied to was painted black, and if he craned his neck he could see some meaningless-looking runes drawn on in silver paint marker. The whole room looked like a low-budget fantasy set, the most cliche magical lair you could buy for $19.99 or less. And the biggest cliche of all was the guy standing in front of the table in blue star-covered robes and a _freaking pointy wizard's hat_. Tony banged his head on the wall and groaned. _Fantastic, I've been kidnapped by Harry Potter. Nobody will ever let me live this down._

The guy looked up at Tony's groan and smiled. "Oh, you're awake!" And dammit, the guy-- the _kid_ didn't look old enough to be out of grade school. He was even wearing round black-rimmed glasses; Tony was surprised the kid hadn't drawn a lightning bolt on his forehead to complete the look.

The problem was, dorky and stereotypical didn't mean less dangerous. Tony'd been introduced to this world of magic thanks to a guy who'd done plenty of damage with a charcoal porch grill, after all....

"Please tell me you're not summoning demons," Tony blurted out. Or started to-- he started coughing halfway through.

The would-be Harry Potter frowned. "Sorry, what?"

Tony cleared his throat and sniffed. "Are you summoning demons?"

"What-- no! How stupid do you think I am?" The guy looked seriously offended at the thought, and Tony huffed a sigh of relief. He did not answer the question because he still had a few self-preservation instincts, no matter what Lee or Henry... or Leah, or Amy... okay, fine, everyone-- seemed to think. _Honestly, I survived on the streets for years before I met Henry, they could give me a bit of credit._

The guy turned back to the table and started measuring powders and stuff into the silver bowl. Tony surreptitiously tested his bonds, but each rope was tied tight around his wrists and ankles, and then tied just as firmly through four heavy rings screwed into the wall behind him. He considered what spells he knew that could get him free, sneezed, and remembered the mess that had been his tissues. _Okay, maybe save the magic for a last resort. Try something less likely to explode in my face, first._

He needed more to work with. "So what _are_ you trying to do?" Tony asked.

"A spell of transference," the guy said absently.

"Transferring what?" Tony thought briefly of the episode in season 2 where Raymond Dark's and James Taylor Grant's minds were switched.

"Your magic." The guy frowned. "Uh. How many spoonfuls was that?"

"Four," Tony said randomly, throttling the urge to panic.

The guy dumped one more spoonful of green powder and pick up a vial of something disturbingly pink. "Don't worry, I won't take all of it," and he actually seemed to be sincerely trying to reassure Tony. "Just enough, you know? She said you're so powerful, you'll barely miss the little bit I need."

There was something off about that statement, but Tony couldn't quite pin it down. "She?" he repeated. "If Amy's been talking about me, she exaggerates when drunk. A lot."

"Who?"

"Goth girl? I think her hair's purple this week? I'm just saying, if she's where you're getting your information, she knows less than she likes to believe." Tony sniffed hard, trying not to sneeze again.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Potter-guy said, "but my resources are completely reliable. With this spell, I _will_ become a wizard."

"You _will_ become a-- you mean you're not a wizard yet?"

"That's what the spell is for!"

"But how do you get the spell to work if you can't do magic yet?" Tony said, confused.

"Well, I could trust you to perform the spell for me--" Tony couldn't hold back a snort, and the guy nodded. "Yeah, I'm not that stupid. So instead, I have this." He held up a copper amulet embedded with yellow-green stones. Unlike the rest of the room's decor, it was far from a cheap prop. Tony could feel power pulsing from it in a nauseating wave. "It will jumpstart the spell until I have enough of your magical energy to complete it myself."

Tony frowned. "That's not right."

"I told you, I'll only take part of your magic, you won't miss it."

"No, I mean--" Tony coughed. "Leaving aside the morality of-- of kidnapping a sick man to perform magic against his will, there's no such thing as 'magical' energy."

"Of course there is! What else would magic use?"

"Just whatever energy is there. Magic's just a way of _manipulating_ energy, it can come from your surroundings or from your own body, but then you have to eat and sleep to get it back. Calories, ether, it's all energy."

The guy's brow furrowed. "Are you sure?"

"Hey, you're not the only one who researches magic," Tony said, ignoring the fact that most of his research consisted of scanning through Arra's laptop when a certain 9-year-old wouldn't let him BS his way through answering her questions. "Trust me, taking my energy will not give you magic, it'll just make me tired and hungry."

Doubt flashed in the kid's eyes, but was quickly replaced with suspicion. "Then what will give me magic?"

"Uh..." Tony'd had read or heard theories on that question from just about everyone, but his brain refused to remember any.

"Let me guess, some elitist bullshit about having to be _born_ with it?" Not-Potter sneered. "Why should I trust you? Maybe you're just lying to keep me from taking your power. Keeping it all for yourself."

"I could be, but I'm not." Tony twisted his wrists and tugged; the cords held tight, but now his palms were facing outward. He kept his left hand in a loose fist, just in case. He coughed, and added, "Do I look in any shape to lie cobidzingly?" The stuffed-up nose only underscored his point, he hoped.

He also hoped it was later than he thought, and that Lee or Henry or both were looking for him, because he was pretty sure that the best he was managing to do was buy some time.

"If you really thought the spell wouldn't do anything," the would-be wizard finally said, "it wouldn't matter if you just let me do it instead of trying so hard to talk me out of it." He looked oddly triumphant at the overly-convoluted logic that must have led to that conclusion.

"Are you secretly Sicilian?" Tony said, because that seriously was almost Princess Bride levels of if-you-know-that-I-know-that-you-know. He waved off the guy's look of confusion, or tried to-- bound arms were inconvenient for more than just spellcasting. "Never mind. I'm sure the spell will do _something_. Suck out my life force, which I don't have much to spare of, so probably kill--" he sneezed-- "me. But I don't think it'll do what you think it's supposed to do. It'll probably--" another sneeze, "--kill you too."

The guy frowned. Paced the small room. Tony wasn't sure, but he thought the pacing was a bad sign. Especially since the guy seemed to get more worked up each time he hit a wall and had to turn. "No," he said. "No, she told me this would work, she _promised_ me--"

"She who?"

"You will not deny me my destiny!" The guy gripped the creepy amulet tight in one hand, held it over the silver bowl, and even as Tony opened his mouth to say something-- anything that would delay or distract the guy a bit longer, started chanting.

The chanting had about as much magical power as the runes on the wall, which was to say even less than the latest One Direction song (not that Tony listened to them or anything), except for one word. But that one word, hidden among the nonsense syllables, triggered something in the amulet that had the power within it unfurling, sending out questing tendrils that Tony could _see_ reaching for him. (Later he would tell himself that they hadn't actually been phsyically visible, that it had been the terror and the flu and the slight passing resemblance to the Shadowlord's minions, but he was never sure if that made a difference.)

Panicking, Tony opened his left hand, but calling that thing even closer to him was the last thing he wanted to do-- and he'd never really gotten the hang of reversing the spell to make things _go away_ , which really seemed like a horrible oversight now--

And in the midst of this maelstrom of conflicting energies, both within and without.... Tony sneezed. Then sneezed again. And again.

~*~*~

This time, when Tony came to, he was lying on the floor, covered in dust. Coughing, he sat up and took in the destruction. The curtains were in purple shreds on the floor and walls, revealing cracked windows and an open doorway; the implements of the ritual were shattered and scattered about the tiny room; and the dust covering Tony was plaster, insulation and sawdust that was once the wall Tony had been tied to. He winced and hoped the wall wasn't loadbearing.

Tony didn't see the wannabe wizard at first. Just as he saw a hand sticking out from under a tattered curtain, his phone's ringtone beeped from somewhere in the room. Reflexively he called it to him, not even remembering that the loss or misfire of his magic was a possibility until it was safely in his left hand. His relief was split fairly equally between that and the sight of Henry's number on the screen, with several missed call notifications from both him and Lee. He answered immediately with, "I'm okay."

"Are you still in danger?" Trust Henry to go straight for the essentials.

"Not anymore, I don't think." Tony knelt by his kidnapper and pulled the curtain away. No sign of broken bones or more than a few scratches, even breathing, steady pulse. "Oh good, he's not dead."

"Who's not dead?" Henry didn't need to add, _and should they be?_

"...Huh, I never did get his name. It's the guy who, uh, brought me here."

"And where is here?"

"Um. Still working on that." Harry Notter was down for the count, so Tony stood and started picking his way to the nearest window. "Is Lee with you?"

"....He is here."

"Now that you've established my immediate safety, can I talk to him?"

The silence on the other end was telling in the way only one of Henry's silences could be, but the next sound he heard was Lee's voice, full of warmth and worry. "Tony? Are you okay?"

And it was a bit ridiculous, how hearing Lee's voice could start unknotting the tension in his chest just like that, but whatever. Tony let the stupid grin stay on his face. Not like anyone was there to see it. "I am now," he said. "I'm--" he looked out the window and rolled his eyes. "I'm apparently on the second floor of my own freaking apartment building." Because there was the convenience store he'd never made it to earlier, at almost the same angle as from his own apartment windows. This was Really Pathetic, and Tony didn't even know anymore if he was talking about the kidnapper or himself.

"We'll be right-- uh. Henry's already on his way," said Lee.

Tony sighed. "I'll open the door before he knocks it down."

~*~*~

"Well, this is interesting," Lee said when he caught up to Tony and Henry in Apartment 206.

"I know," Tony said. "Why didn't I think of building a tiny magic room out of half my apartment?"

Lee looked at the remnants of the slapdash drywall, and peeked through the doorway at the destruction Tony-- of course it was Tony-- had left. "I think that question answers itself," he said. He wrapped an arm around Tony. "You're okay, though?"

"Completely fine, I swear."

"You sound more fine than you should," Henry said, frowning down at the not-yet-conscious kid that had apparently tried to steal Tony's magic. "Didn't you have a cold?"

"Flu," Lee said.

Tony sniffed experimentally and blinked in surprise. "Huh. That's wei--"

The kid groaned, rolled over, and sneezed.

Tony flinched back from Lee and Henry's accusing stares. "Oh, come on, I didn't--" the kid coughed, and Tony winced. "Okay, well, I didn't give him my cold on _purpose_."

"How did you even do that?" Lee asked.

"I don't know, I just wanted to get that thing away from me!"

"What thing?"

They found the slagged remains of the amulet embedded in the wall of the farthest corner of the apartment. Lee couldn't sense anything mystical about it, but Henry flinched back with a curl of his lip, and Tony muttered something about it not being as bad as it was but refused to actually touch it until it was wrapped in several layers of torn purple curtains.

Henry turned to the would-be wizard, who was sitting and staring at them blankly. "Where did you get this amulet?"

"What amulet?" the guy whimpered.

"The one _she_ gave you," Tony said, crouching beside him. "Who is 'she'? Who told you about me?"

"What?" The guy looked away from Henry almost with relief, but then stared at Tony with a mixture of fear and bafflement. "Look, I don't know how you got into my apartment, but I don't have anything worth stealing, I swear."

"Huh?" Tony frowned. "Hey, you're the one who--"

"Wait," Henry interrupted. "Lee, take Tony back upstairs while I... talk to our friend here."

"I'm fine," Tony insisted, but Lee pulled him to his feet and started tugging him to the door. (He'd decided months ago that he wouldn't ask about Henry until he or Tony brought it up or it became urgently relevant, but he suspected he would not enjoy seeing Henry's version of an interrogation.) Tony let himself be tugged, but said to Henry, "Look, try to leave him in mostly one piece. He really did think it wouldn't kill me."

"That would be little comfort if he'd managed to kill you anyway," Henry said in a voice that sent chills down Lee's spine, and not just at the thought of what might have happened had the spell succeeded.

"Well, he didn't." Tony stared Henry down until the shorter man gave a curt nod of acquiescence, then-- finally-- turned and followed Lee out of the apartment.

Lee didn't let go of Tony until they were back upstairs in his own apartment, and then only long enough to wrap both arms around him. If the hug was a little too needy for their normal comfort levels, too bad. Lee was feeling kind of needy. Judging from the way Tony returned the hug, he needed it just as much.

"I really am okay," Tony muttered into his shoulder.

"Does that mean you don't need the egg drop soup anymore?" Lee said.

"Hey now, let's not get too crazy here..."

Lee hid a smile and produced the bag of takeout he'd abandoned on the counter as soon as he'd realized that Tony was gone. Tony dove into the bag with his usual post-wizardry appetite, and didn't even realize that he was eating two people's worth of food until he had polished off the soup (with distracting groans of pleasure) and was making his way through the lo mein. "Shit, sorry, did you eat yet?"

Lee waved off the concern and grabbed a potsticker before they were all gone. "I'm good, I had a late lunch."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Replenish your magic energy already."

"I just got done explaining that magic doesn't have a special energy of its own," Tony grumbled through a mouthful of noodles. "You could at least listen better than Potter-less did."

"His name's not really Potter, is it?"

"His name is Emil Bellamy-Perez," Henry announced, sweeping into the room, "and unfortunately, that is all he remembers."

"Wait, what? He forgot his entire life?"

"Not quite that complete, but he certainly has no memory of you or your abilities, much less whoever might have told him about you."

"Yeah, _that's_ not a completely overdone plot device," Tony muttered.

"Did he hit his head, or was it a side effect of the spells exploding?" Lee asked.

Henry shook his head. "I know what it feels like when a person has forgotten something naturally... or I should say, accidentally. There is a very _purposeful_ feel to this, an intent behind it."

Tony sighed. "Well, fuck."

"Who do we know who could do something like that?"

"I can think of at least three," Tony said. "Problem is, I trust them all. For given values of trust, in some cases, but still."

It was hard to say which option sounded less pleasant: someone familiar betraying Tony, or Tony being basically stalked by someone completely unknown to them. Lee hid a shiver and tried to find a positive side. "At least she didn't kill him," he tried. "Sure, amnesia's overdone, but the whole 'shot just before revealing the truth' is even worse." It sounded weak to his ears, but Henry was nodding thoughtfully.

"It's true, having him forget about you as well as her removes him safely from whatever game this mystery person is playing. In a way it protects all three of you, not just the spellcaster. Not that it guarantees that 'she' will continue to show such consideration for life in the future."

"Means it's less likely that she'll try to shoot me in the street, though." Tony leaned back against the counter. "For tonight, at least, I'll take it."

"I _suggested_ to your young neighbor that he find a new place to live somewhere very far from here," said Henry. "It's probably best if you avoid crossing his path until he finishes moving out, just in case something breaks loose in his memory when he tries to explain to the landlord just what sort of home improvement he was trying to do."

"Stay with me," Lee said immediately. "I mean, you can stay at my place. With me." Honestly, as an actor he normally had better control over his blushing. But even though they were official and out and everything now, somehow Tony rarely stayed over at Lee's place for more than a few hours.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked. "I mean, if I'm being stal--"

Lee covered Tony's mouth with his hand. "If the next words out of your mouth even _imply_ that I should distance myself from you for my own safety, I will knock you out and carry you home over my shoulder," he said, only half-joking.

Tony narrowed his eyes and licked the palm of Lee's hand. Lee hid his shiver and stubbornly waited to remove his hand until it was obvious he was doing so by his choice.

Then Henry cleared his throat, and they both jumped. "I'll leave you two to pack, then," he said. "Do you have the energy to ward both this place and Lee's?"

"Of course," Tony said. Lee and Henry shared a glance; it didn't take supernatural powers to guess that Tony was not as sure as he pretended to be, or for Lee to silently promise that he would take care of him.

Henry left, Tony painted the door with cherry cough syrup, and Lee started stuffing clean-enough clothes into a duffel bag. "There is one bonus to all this," Lee said when Tony was done with the wards.

Tony looked at him skeptically. "Yeah?"

"You're not sick anymore." Lee set the bag down, wrapped his arms around Tony, and kissed just under his ear. "So you don't have to worry about spreading your germs around."

"You have a point," Tony said, a little breathlessly. "So you're saying we should head over to your place and... celebrate our health?"

Lee grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."


End file.
